USB type-C power delivery management

ABSTRACT

When power is provided through a USB-C cable from a source device to a sink device, a sudden connection or disconnection of the cable between the two devices may cause a sudden power surge or power drop in at least one of those devices, leading to other problems. To avoid this sudden event from causing potential damage or disruption to one of the devices, in some embodiments a CC pin in the cable is used to announce the impending connection/disconnection, and the device may throttle back its power consumption before power is actually applied to or removed from the power pins.

This application is a divisional of and claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 120 from U.S. application Ser. No. 15/639,447, filed Jun. 30,2017, entitled “USB TYPE-C POWER DELIVERY MANAGEMENT.” The disclosure ofthis application is considered part of and is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to using USB-C (UniversalSerial Bus type C) interconnects. In particular, embodiments relate tomanaging the delivery of power from one device to another through theUSB-C cable when that cable is connected or disconnected.

BACKGROUND

USB-C is an industry standard still in development at the time of thiswriting. Among other improvements over previous versions of USCstandards, it contains more pins (24), has identical connectors at eachend so that either end may be plugged into either device, and eachconnector is reversible (it may be rotated 180 degrees before insertionand will still work properly). Another improvement is that it permitsgreatly increased power to be transferred through the USB-C cable.However, this increased power flow may create problems if the cable issuddenly connected or disconnected, due to the sudden change in powerconsumption (surge or drop) by at least one of the connected devices.

In particular, when one of the devices is a mobile PC or other devicewith a CPU, and with substantial power being transferred through theUSB-C cable, the following challenges may be present, neither of whichis corrected or compensated for by current approaches:

1) When the mobile PC operates as a USB-C sink (consumes power receivedfrom the cable) the power budget allocated to the CPU may need to bereduced immediately before the USB-C port is dis-connected. This wouldavoid the CPU drawing excessive power from its own battery after thedisconnection, resulting in a possible system crash.

2) When the mobile PC operates as a USB-C source (delivers power throughthe cable), the power budget allocated to the CPU may need to be reducedimmediately before power is provided through the USB-C cable. This wouldavoid overstressing the battery or the power supply due to the suddenlyhigher power consumption created by the device at the other end of theUSB-C cable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention may be better understood by referringto the following description and accompanying drawings that are used toillustrate embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows pin assignments for a typical USB-C cable.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of two devices connected by a USB-C cable,according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method performed by a Source devicewhen making a USB-C connection, according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method performed by a Sink device whenmaking a USB-C disconnection, according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of module in a device using a USB-C powersystem, according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth.However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncircuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail inorder not to obscure an understanding of this description.

References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “example embodiment”,“various embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment(s) of theinvention so described may include particular features, structures, orcharacteristics, but not every embodiment necessarily includes theparticular features, structures, or characteristics. Further, someembodiments may have some, all, or none of the features described forother embodiments.

In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and“connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should beunderstood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other.Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” is used to indicate thattwo or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact witheach other. “Coupled” is used to indicate that two or more elementsco-operate or interact with each other, but they may or may not haveintervening physical or electrical components between them.

As used in the claims, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinaladjectives “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., to describe a commonelement, merely indicate that different instances of like elements arebeing referred to, and are not intended to imply that the elements sodescribed must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, inranking, or in any other manner.

Various embodiments of the invention may be implemented fully orpartially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware maytake the form of instructions (e.g., instructions 124) contained in oron a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., medium 222,main memory 204, and/or static memory 206). The medium may also beexternal to a device such as device 100, with the intention that theinstructions will eventually be loaded into, and executed by, a devicesuch as device 100. The instructions may be read and executed by the oneor more processors to enable performance of the operations describedherein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but notlimited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executablecode, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readablemedium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storinginformation in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but notlimited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magneticdisk storage media; optical storage media; a flash memory, etc.

As used in this document, it should be noted that the terms ‘plugged in’and ‘unplugged’ imply a stead state relationship between two matingconnectors—they are either mated together or are not mated, but are notin a transition between the two states.

Also as used in this document, it should be noted that the terms‘connect’ and ‘disconnect’, and their derivatives, imply an action inwhich two mating connectors are making a transition to/from a plugged instate and an unplugged state. These terms also imply that the oppositeend of the cable is already plugged in to the device at that oppositeend. If the device at the opposite end of the cable is not alreadyplugged in, the indicated operations for the described end may not takeplace.

FIG. 1 shows pin assignments for a typical USB-C cable. To understandthe various embodiments of the invention to follow, this prior artexplanation of USB-C pin assignments is shown. The connector shown ismade to interface with a board-edge connector with 12 pins on eitherside, shown as the A side and the B side. This drawing is labeled as areceptacle, with the board-edge plug fitting in between the upper (A)pins and the lower (B) pins. As can be seen, the pin assignments aresuch that rotating the connector by 180 degrees produces the same pinfunctionality in the same locations. Power delivery is handled by theVbus pins (voltage) and the GND pins (power ground). Regardless ofconnector orientation, four Vbus pins and four GND pins will beconnected when the cable is plugged in, to increase the potentialcurrent capacity. Although not shown in this diagram, the Vbus pins andGND pins are longer than the rest, so that the power pins will makecontact first when the cable is connected, and will lose contact lastwhen the cable is disconntected.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of two devices connected by a USB-C cable,according to an embodiment of the invention. The device intended todeliver power is labeled the source device, while the device intended toreceive that power is labeled the sink device. Only three functionalconnections are shown, as these are the functions that may be used tocontrol power delivery when the cable is connected or disconnected.Other pins used for communication between the devices are not shown, asthey are considered unnecessary for the operation of various embodimentsof the power delivery functions described herein.

As mentioned before, the Vbus and GND pins may be connected first anddisconnected last due to their extra length, leaving all other pinsbriefly in a non-functional state until all pins are in a plugged-in orunplugged state. However, this may not necessarily mean that power isactually delivered by the source device during that brief time, or thatthe final load is placed on the power pins by the sink device duringthat brief time. Switch SW1 may be used to control whether and whenpower is actually applied by the source device to the Vbus pin. As maybe seen in subsequent paragraphs, the channel control (CC) pin may beused to signal a potential connection or disconnection of the cable,which may subsequently be verified. During the brief state of potentialnon-functionality, the devices may use the CC pin to determine if aconnection or disconnection is actually taking place, and performsuitable adjustments to avoid potential surges in power caused by thataction.

Looking at the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2, it can be seen that pinCC in the source device may be pulled up to voltage V when the cable isunplugged at either end, since there is no current flow through resistorRp. It should be noted that this voltage V may or may not be the samevoltage that is conveyed over the Vbus pin. Similarly, pin CC in thesink device may be pulled down to ground when the cable is unplugged ateither end, since there is no current flow through resistor Rd. But whenthe cable is plugged in at both ends, pin CC in both of the devices maystabilize at V*Rp/(Rp+Rd). It should be noted that other resistors, andeven capacitors and/or inductors, may be included at either or both endsto change the specific dynamics, but the overall explanation should bethe same as in this simplified arrangement.

When the cable is first connected, the voltage at pin CC in the sourcedevice may drop (from V to V*Rd/(Rp+Rd) in this case). This drop involtage may be the signal to the source device that the cable is beingconnected and that the power pins are already connected. Similarly, whenthe cable is first connected, the voltage at pin CC in the sink devicemay rise (from Gnd to V*Rd/(Rp+Rd)). This rise in voltage may be thesignal to the sink device that a connection of the cable is takingplace, and that the power pins are already connected.

Similarly, when pin CC of the cable is disconnected, the voltage at pinCC in the source device may rise from V*Rd/(Rp+Rd) to V, while thevoltage at pin CC in the sink device may drop from V*Rd/(Rp+Rd) down toGnd. This rise in voltage at CC of the source device and drop in voltageat pin CC of the sink device may be a signal to both devices that adisconnection of the cable is taking place. However, since the powerpins are longer than the CC pin, they may remain connected for a shorttime after the voltage transition at CC pin. Upon receiving thisindication that a connection or disconnection is immenent, each devicemay take suitable precautions to avoid any power surges or otherdisruptions that might take place due to a sudden change in the powerload.

As can be seen from this discussion, a rise or fall in the voltage onthe CC pin may be used to indicate a connection state transition, as ameans to show potential power connection or disconnection, even thoughthe actual power attachment between two USB-C ports is based on the Vbusconnection. This potential connection or disconnection may then be usedto trigger a crude reduction of the CPU power budget. This crudereduction may then be followed by a more accurate adjustment to the CPUpower budget after the connection or disconnection has been completed.

In some embodiments, this more accurate adjustment may be based on apower contract (agreement) established by the two devices through thesignal connections over the USB-C cable.

In the following descriptions, the concepts of ‘power budget’ and ‘powerfloor’ are used. These may be used in the following manner:

Floor Power: P_(floor)=the combination of leakage power and the power ofall other components not directly proportional to the clock frequency.

CPU Power: P_(CPU)=½ CV² f A+P_(floor)

where C is the dynamic capacitance, V is the operating voltage, f is theclock frequency, and A is the activity factor.

USB Floor Power: P_(floor-USB)=an artificially-derived adjustment toP_(floor) that makes allowance for the additional power load that may bedemanded by (or power supply that may be provided by) the device at theother end of the USB-C cable, as negotiated with that other device.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method performed by a source devicewhen making a USB-C connection, according to an embodiment of theinvention. This flow assumes a device with a CPU (such as but notlimited to a mobile computer device) is the device performing the methodand is a source device for power delivery through the USB-C cable.

In flow diagram 300, at 310 the source device may detect a pull down ofthe voltage on the CC pin of that source device. Using the components ofFIG. 2, this may be a pull down from voltage V to voltage V*Rd/(Rp+Rd),but other values may also be used. At 320, the device may wait for atime t1 to allow for contact bounce or other temporary conditions. Insome embodiments, this time may also be used to determine if the deviceat the opposite end of the cable intends to become a sink. Time t1 mayhave various values, but in one embodiment may be 100 milliseconds(msec). After the time delay of t1, at 330 the floor of the CPU powerbudget may be increased by P_(floor-USB). In some embodiments, this maybe the nameplate advertised power level of the USB-C port. At thispoint, power may be applied at 340 to the Vbus pin, thus providing powerto the Sink device. Referencing FIG. 2, this power may be appliedthrough switch SW1.

Once the cable has been fully plugged in so that the two devices cancommunicate, at 350 the source device may negotiate the power contractwith the sink device to determine a new CPU power budget. The sourcedevice may then set the CPU power budget at 360, based on this contract.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method performed by a sink device whenmaking a USB-C disconnection, according to an embodiment of theinvention. This flow assumes a device with a CPU (such as but notlimited to a mobile computer device) is the device performing the methodand is a sink device for power received through the USB-C cable.

In flow diagram 400, at 410 the sink device may detect a pull down ofthe voltage on the CC pin of that sink device. Using the components ofFIG. 2, this may be a pull down from voltage V*Rd/(Rp+Rd) to ground, butother values may also be used.

At 420 the device may wait for a time t2 to assure pin CC remains atground, thus assuring a disconnection is taking place. Time t2 may havevarious values, but in one embodiment may be approximately 100micro-second (usec). After this time, the CPU may be throttled back at430 by reducing the operating voltage and/or clock frequency of the CPU.At 440, the CPU power budget software may be notified that the powerbudget is being throttled due to a potential disconnect. Operations 430and 440 may be performed in either order or simultaneously.

At 450 the disconnection may be verified. This may be done in variousways, such as but not limited to determining a loss of voltage on Vbus.The CPU power budget may be reduced at 460, followed by cancelling thethrottling action of 430.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of module in a device using a USB-C powersystem, according to an embodiment of the invention. The embodiment ofFIG. 5 shows three main modules, labeled Port Manager, CPU PowerManagement, and the CPU Power Budget Adjustment, although other labelsmay be used. Each module may contain any combination of hardware,software, or firmware. The same modules may be used as shown for asource port connect or a sink port disconnect.

Referring to FIG. 5 and the indicated labels A-E, a potential connectionat the source port may be described by:

A) The Port Manager may detect a pull down on the CC pin (by the far-endsink device) and wait for 100 msec to verify the far-end device intendsto become a sink.

B) After 100 msec, the Port Manager may increase the floor of the CPUpower budget by writing a value to P_(floor-USB). In some embodiments,this may be the nameplate advertised power level of the port.

C) The Port Manager may notify the CPU Power Budget Adjustment modulethat it has written to P_(floor-USB).

D) The Port Manager may turn on a MOSFET switch to supply voltage on theVbus port. The step may come before, after, or at the same time as stepC).

E) The CPU Power Budget Adjustment module may read the actual powercontract of the port and then may set a new value to P_(floor-USB) basedon that contract.

Again referring to FIG. 5 and the indicated labels 1-5, a potentialdisconnection at the sink port may be described by:

1) The Port Manager may detect that the CC pin is pulled low longer than100 usec. This would not be expected under normal conditions and wouldmost likely indicate a disconnection is in progress.

2) The Port Manager may assert a signal to throttle the CPU to a safelevel. In one embodiment the CPU may set the clock to the lowestfrequency mode and then reduce the operating voltage.

3) The Port Manager may notify the CPU Power Budget Adjustment modulethat CPU throttling is occurring due to a potential disconnect.

4) The CPU Power Budget Adjustment module may verify that the sink porthas indeed been disconnected. This may be verified in various ways, suchas but not limited to detecting a loss of power at the Vbus pin.

5) The CPU Power Budget Adjustment module may notify the Port Manager tode-assert the signal of throttling the CPU power.

The device may also contain a CPU coupled to the CPU power managementmodule, and a battery coupled to the CPU. Neither are shown in FIG. 5due to space constraints in the drawing.

EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to particular embodiments:

Example 1 includes a device having a USB-C port, a port manager module,and a CPU power budget adjustment module, the device to: detect avoltage pull-down on a CC pin of the USB-C port; after a time delay,increase a floor of a CPU power budget; notify a CPU Power Budgetadjustment module of said increasing the floor of the CPU power budget;apply power to a Vbus pin of the USB-C port; read a power contractnegotiated with a second device connected to a USB-C cable connected tothe USB-C port; and set a new floor to the CPU power budget based on thepower contract.

Example 2 includes the device of example 1, wherein the CPU floor powercomprises a combination of leakage power and power consumed by othercomponents not proportional to clock frequency.

Example 3 includes the device of example 1, wherein said notifying is tobe performed by a CPU power budget adjustment module.

Example 4 includes the device of example 1, wherein said increasing thefloor is to be performed by a port manager module.

Example 5 includes the device of example 1, further comprising a CPUpower management module coupled to the CPU power budget adjustmentmodule and the port manager module.

Example 6 includes the device of example 1, further comprising the CPUcoupled to the CPU power management module.

Example 7 includes the device of example 6, further comprising a batterycoupled to the CPU.

Example 8 includes the device of example 1, wherein the USB-C portcomprises a 24-pin USB-C connector.

Example 9 includes a device having a USB-C port, a port manager module,and a CPU power budget adjustment module, the device to: detect avoltage pull up at a CC pin of a USB-C port; after a time delay, asserta signal to throttle a CPU to a lower power consumption level; providenotification of CPU throttling; verify sink port has been disconnected;and de-assert the signal to throttle the CPU power.

Example 10 includes the device of example 9, wherein said throttling theCPU comprises performing at least one item selected from a list of itemsconsisting of: a) reducing an operating frequency of the CPU, and b)reducing an operating voltage of the CPU.

Example 11 includes the device of example 9, wherein said providingnotification is provided to the power budget adjustment module.

Example 12 includes the device of example 9, further comprising a CPUpower management module coupled to the CPU power budget adjustmentmodule and the port manager module.

Example 13 includes the device of example 9, further comprising the CPUcoupled to the CPU power management module.

Example 14 includes the device of example 12, further comprising abattery coupled to the CPU.

Example 15 includes a computer-readable non-transitory storage mediumthat contains instructions, which when executed by one or moreprocessors result in performing operations comprising: detecting avoltage pull-down on a CC pin of the USB-C port; after a time delay,increasing a floor of a CPU power budget; notifying a CPU Power BudgetAdjustment module of said increasing the floor of the CPU power budget;applying power to a Vbus pin of the USB-C port; reading a power contractnegotiated with a second device connected to a USB-C cable connected tothe USB-C port; and setting a new floor to the CPU power budget based onthe power contract.

Example 16 includes the medium of example 15, wherein the CPU floorpower comprises a combination of leakage power and power consumed byother components not proportional to clock frequency.

Example 17 includes the medium of example 15, wherein said notifying isto be performed by a CPU power budget adjustment module and saidincreasing the floor is to be performed by a port manager module.

Example 18 includes a computer-readable non-transitory storage mediumthat contains instructions, which when executed by one or moreprocessors result in performing operations comprising: detecting avoltage pull up at a CC pin of a USB-C port; after a time delay,asserting a signal to throttle a CPU to a lower power consumption level;providing notification of said CPU throttling; verifying a sink port hasbeen disconnected; and de-asserting the signal to throttle the CPUpower.

Example 19 includes the medium of example 18, wherein the operation ofthrottling the CPU comprises performing at least one item selected froma list of items consisting of: a) reducing an operating frequency of theCPU, and b) reducing an operating voltage of the CPU.

Example 20 includes the medium of example 18, wherein the operation ofproviding notification comprises providing notification to a powerbudget adjustment module.

Example 21 includes a method of controlling power delivery through aUSB-C cable port, comprising: detecting a voltage pull-down on a CC pinof the USB-C port; after a time delay, increasing a floor of a CPU powerbudget; notifying a CPU Power Budget Adjustment module of saidincreasing the floor of the CPU power budget; applying power to a Vbuspin of the USB-C port; reading a power contract negotiated with a seconddevice connected to a USB-C cable connected to the USB-C port; andsetting a new floor to the CPU power budget based on the power contract.

Example 22 includes the method of example 21, wherein the CPU floorpower comprises a combination of leakage power and power consumed byother components not proportional to clock frequency.

Example 23 includes the method of example 21, wherein said notifying isto be performed by a CPU power budget adjustment module and saidincreasing the floor is to be performed by a port manager module.

Example 24 includes a method of controlling power reception through aUSB-C cable port, comprising: detecting a voltage pull up at a CC pin ofa USB-C port; after a time delay, asserting a signal to throttle a CPUto a lower power consumption level; providing notification of said CPUthrottling; verifying a sink port has been disconnected; andde-asserting the signal to throttle the CPU power.

Example 25 includes the method of example 24, wherein said throttlingthe CPU comprises performing at least one item selected from a list ofitems consisting of: a) reducing an operating frequency of the CPU, andb) reducing an operating voltage of the CPU.

Example 26 includes the method of example 24, wherein said providingnotification comprises providing notification to a power budgetadjustment module.

Example 27 includes a device for controlling power delivery through aUSB-C port, the device having means to: detect a voltage pull-down on aCC pin of the USB-C port; after a time delay, increase a floor of a CPUpower budget; notify a CPU Power Budget adjustment module of saidincreasing the floor of the CPU power budget; apply power to a Vbus pinof the USB-C port; read a power contract negotiated with a second deviceconnected to a USB-C cable connected to the USB-C port; and set a newfloor to the CPU power budget based on the power contract.

Example 28 includes the device of example 27, wherein the CPU floorpower comprises a combination of leakage power and power consumed byother components not proportional to clock frequency.

Example 29 includes the device of example 27, wherein said notifying isto be performed by a CPU power budget adjustment means and saidincreasing the floor is to be performed by a port manager means.

Example 30 includes the device of example 27, further comprising a CPUmeans.

Example 31 includes a device for controlling power delivery through aUSB-C port, the device having means to: detect a voltage pull up at a CCpin of a USB-C port; after a time delay, assert a signal to throttle aCPU to a lower power consumption level; provide notification of CPUthrottling; verify sink port has been disconnected; and de-assert thesignal to throttle the CPU power.

Example 32 includes the device of example 31, wherein said means forthrottling the CPU comprises means for performing at least one itemselected from a list of items consisting of: a) reducing an operatingfrequency of the CPU, and b) reducing an operating voltage of the CPU.

Example 33 includes the device of example 31, wherein said means forproviding notification comprises means for providing notification to apower budget adjustment module.

The foregoing description is intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. Variations will occur to those of skill in the art. Thosevariations are intended to be included in the various embodiments of theinvention, which are limited only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, having: a Universal Serial Bus type C(USB-C) port, and a CPU configured to detect a voltage pull down at achannel control (CC) pin of the USB-C port; after a time delay, assert asignal to throttle the CPU to a lower power consumption level; verify asink port has been disconnected; and de-assert the signal to throttlethe CPU.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein said throttling comprisesperforming at least one item selected from a list of items consistingof: a) reducing an operating frequency, and b) reducing an operatingvoltage.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is to provide anotification of said throttling to CPU power budget software.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1, further comprising: a battery coupled to the CPU,wherein the device is a mobile computer device.
 5. The device of claim1, wherein the device further is to perform a determination that thevoltage of the CC pin is modified longer than the time delay, and thesignal is asserted based on the determination.
 6. A computer-readable,non-transitory storage medium that contains instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more processors, result in performing operationscomprising: detecting a voltage pull down at a channel control (CC) pinof a Universal Serial Bus type C (USB-C) port; after a time delay,asserting a signal to throttle a CPU to a lower power consumption level;verifying a sink port has been disconnected; and de-asserting the signalto throttle the CPU.
 7. The storage medium of claim 6, wherein theoperation of throttling the CPU comprises performing at least one itemselected from a list of items consisting of: a) reducing an operatingfrequency of the CPU, and b) reducing an operating voltage of the CPU.8. The storage medium of claim 6, the operations further comprising:providing a notification of said CPU throttling to CPU power budgetsoftware.
 9. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the verifying isperformed based on the notification.
 10. The storage medium of claim 6,the operations further comprising: performing a determination that thevoltage of the CC pin is modified longer than the time delay, whereinthe signal is asserted based on the determination.
 11. The storagemedium of claim 6, wherein the verifying is performed by detecting aloss of power at a Vbus pin of the USB-C port.
 12. The storage medium ofclaim 6, wherein the signal is de-asserted based on the verifying.
 13. Amethod implemented by an apparatus, the method comprising: detecting avoltage pull down at a CC pin of a Universal Serial Bus type C (USB-C)port of the apparatus; after a time delay, asserting a signal to performa throttling of a CPU of the apparatus to a lower power consumptionlevel; verifying a sink port has been disconnected; and de-asserting thesignal to throttle the CPU.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: performing a determination that the voltage of the CC pin ismodified longer than the time delay, wherein the signal is assertedbased on the determination.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein saidthrottling includes reducing an operating frequency of the CPU orreducing an operating voltage of the CPU.
 16. The method of claim 13,wherein the verifying is performed by detecting a loss of power at aVbus pin of the USB-C port.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein thesignal is de-asserted based on the verifying.
 18. The method of claim13, wherein the apparatus is a mobile computer device, and the apparatusincludes a battery coupled to the CPU.